Various types of home fireplaces have been proposed for installation in existing structures such as those disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,059,090; 4,089,320; and 4,074,679. While these fireplace units have been satisfactory for their intended purpose, their inherent construction prevents these units from conforming to various federal, state and municipal ordinances governing the use of fireplace units in homes, particularly mobile homes. A few of these regulations require the use of outside air for use as combustion air, the elimination of a stack damper, the elimination of a combustion air front intake damper; also the elimination of the customary circulation of room air into the firebox combustion chamber which creates a negative air pressure inside the sealed mobile home.
After considerable research and experimentation, the fireplace heating unit of the present invention has been devised to conform to all the various regulatory requirements while at the same time providing a heating unit which is durable, safe, economical and designed for fast and easy installation.
The fireplace heating unit of the present invention comprises, essentially, a stainless steel firebox mounted within a housing. An insulated wall or partition is positioned within the housing to define an inner air chamber between the outer surface of the firebox walls and the inner face of the partition; and an outer air chamber between the outer face of the partition and the inner face of the housing walls. Outside or ambient air communicates with the inner chamber to be heated by the walls of the firebox. A portion of the heated air is directed into the firebox through apertures provided in the firebox side walls, the remainder of the incoming heated air being directed into the room to be heated. The outer chamber communicates with the room air being circulated therethrough.